Venezuela Bonds Fall Below 40 Cents as Maduro Affirms Subsidies

Venezuelan bonds dropped to a 16-year low as President Nicolas Maduro said he has no plans to curb fuel subsidies while not ruling out the possibility of default. The government’s benchmark bonds due in 2027 fell 8.2 percent to 37.835 cents on the dollar, the lowest on a closing basis since 1998, as of 4:57 p.m. in New York. The extra yield investors demand to hold Venezuela’s overseas notes instead of Treasuries rose the most in the world. Swaps contracts protecting bond investors from non-payment imply a 97 percent chance of default in the next 12 months, according to CMA data. More…